Written question asked by Danny Alexander (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 19 May 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 21 May 2009. It was answered by Geoffrey Hoon (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 June 2009 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Departmental Security

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many breaches of security have been reported at (a) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (b) the Driving Standards Agency, (c) the Government Car and Despatch Agency, (d) the Highways Agency, (e) the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, (f) the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and (g) the Vehicle Certification Agency in the last five years; and what procedures each agency follows when a breach of security involves the disclosure of personal data.

Answer: Information on breaches of security for the last five years for Department for Transport Agencies is not held centrally.The Department and its agencies report all significant personal data security breaches to the Cabinet Office and the ICO. Information on personal data security breaches are published on an annual basis in the Department's annual resource accounts as was announced in the Data Handling Review published on 25 June 2008.Additionally, all significant control weaknesses including other significant security breaches are included in the Statement of Internal Control which is published within the annual resource accounts.

Secondary information